North Korea launches ICBM with potential to reach New York

North Korea has fired its second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), stoking fears of the country’s potential nuclear capabilities.

The missile was launched nearly vertically, travelled 1000 kilometres and reached an altitude of about 3000 kilometres before splashing down off the coast of Japan, according to the Japanese national broadcaster NHK. Other reports suggest that altitude may have been even higher.

“The US Department of Defence detected and tracked a single North Korea missile launch today,” said spokesperson captain Jeff Davis. “We assess that this missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile, as had been expected.”

Advertisement

Last month’s missile flew 933 kilometres, reaching an altitude of 2802 kilometres. At the time, David Wright, a US missile scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts, estimated that the missile could have a maximum range of around 6700 kilometres if fired at a standard trajectory.

Wright estimates that the missile launched today could travel 10,400 kilometres or more, putting the west coast of the US easily in range. Taking into account Earth’s rotation, it might even be able to reach New York City.

“It’s pretty surprising to me that this was so much longer range than their last test. We don’t know yet whether they did something to change the missile or what payload they were carrying, so it’s still pretty mysterious,” says Wright. They could have reduced the mass of the mock warhead on the ICBM to get a longer range, rather than improving the rocket itself, he says.

After the launch, South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in called an emergency meeting, as did Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe. “The threat to Japan’s security has become grave and real,” Abe told reporters after the meeting.

ICBMs fly high enough to exit the atmosphere, so they must be protected from the heat caused by re-entry. According to North Korean sources, the 4 July test launch carried a carbon heat shield which could keep the machinery needed to detonate a nuclear device cool and safe.It’s not yet clear if the second test also carried a heat shield.

North Korea’s first ICBM test last month marked a worrying expansion of the country’s ability to bomb much more distant nations instead of just its direct neighbors. The country does have nuclear devices, but they may not be small enough to fit on a missile. Now that most of the US is in range, those worries are escalating.

“I would take seriously the fact that if you’re worried about them having this capability, it’s time to engage with them and see what we can do to mitigate the situation,” Wright says.